Vibrant Virginia grant builds lasting partnerships to address opioid crisis

A backpack might not seem like much. But for people at risk of opioid overdose, it can be life-changing.

Designed by Hokies studying industrial design and packed with essentials — a blanket, a notebook, and the overdose-reversal medication Naloxone — these backpacks have reached thousands across the Roanoke Valley.

What many don’t see is where that impact began — with a Vibrant Virginia seed grant awarded in 2018.

Vibrant Virginia, an initiative of the Center for Economic and Community Engagement, supports faculty members who partner with communities to understand local needs and co-create solutions. That early investment helped Virginia Tech researchers build trust, explore the root causes of substance use disorder, and lay the groundwork for lasting change.

“I had mostly been studying veterans’ and child welfare issues when I started looking more closely at substance use disorder in the New River and Roanoke valleys,” said Mary Beth Dunkenberger, deputy director and research scientist with the Institute for Policy and Governance. “The Vibrant Virginia seed fund grant gave us a way to explore both the impacts of substance use disorder and possible solutions in the urban area of Roanoke and the mostly rural Pulaski County.”

Dunkenberger partnered with Kathy Hosig, associate professor of population health sciences and director of the Center for Public Health Practice and Research; Sophie Wenzel, associate director of the center; and Kimberly Horn, professor with the Institute for Policy and Governance and co-director of the Opioid Research Consortium of Central Appalachia. Horn is also a co-founder of Roanoke Valley Collective Response.

Together, the team worked with existing groups, including the Roanoke Valley Collective Response to the Opioid and Addiction Crisis (RVCR) and the Pulaski County Prevention Council.

That early work led to nearly $1 million in federal funding to launch Connection to Care, a community-based program created with partners including the Council of Community Services’ Drop-In Center, the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition, the Bradley Free Clinic, and the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts. The project provided life-saving supports, recovery guidance, and resources to people facing significant risk of overdose.

“The C2C project was pivotal in building trust for academic research partnerships in the community,” Horn said. “The positive outcomes of that trust continue today.”

From seed funding to sustained impact

Over the course of the grant period, Connection to Care supported thousands of individuals and families, including:

• 2,157 heavy-duty backpacks and 1,250 drawstring bags distributed
• More than 1,000 boxes of Naloxone provided
• 8,144 contacts with people at risk of overdose, with 4,174 receiving harm reduction services or treatment support

Aspects of the Connection to Care (C2C) program continue with community partners, including the HOPE Initiative, RVCR, the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts, and the Virginia Harm Reduction Coalition. Proposals are under development for future funding.

“During my time serving at the HOPE Initiative, C2C had a profound impact on those entering their treatment and recovery journey,” said Christine Wright, executive director and co-founder of Four Truths Recovery. “To watch their shoulders relax and breathe a sigh of relief as we handed them hygiene items and other essentials, you could feel that they felt seen and cared for regardless of their situation.” 

The work also helped shift perspectives among first responders.

“Some first responders were hesitant at first,” said Laura Taylor, health program and policy research scientist with the Institute for Policy and Governance. “But through education and stigma reduction, we saw real changes across localities.”

That shift led to Responders for Recovery, a program that pairs peer recovery specialists with first responders. By riding along on calls, peer specialists can connect individuals with services immediately following an overdose or substance-use-related crisis. Responders for Recovery continues under the leadership of RVCR.

Beyond direct outreach, the broader Connection to Care effort also supported post-release services between Western Virginia Regional Jail and Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare, explored recovery housing needs in the Roanoke Valley, and increased coordination among law enforcement, treatment providers, community organizations, and local governments.

For Dunkenberger, the long-term impact traces back to that first seed grant.

“Vibrant Virginia helped set the foundation for building relationships that make community-engaged work possible,” she said. “It underscored that this work is about trust — and sustained commitment.”

Launched in 2017, Vibrant Virginia encourages place-based collaborations that address pressing community challenges across the commonwealth — reinforcing Virginia Tech’s land-grant mission through sustained community partnership. The initiative has supported more than 20 faculty-led projects involving over 75 faculty members across all the university’s colleges.

Small investments, lasting partnerships

That same model — small investments that build durable partnerships — continues today.

In 2025, the program funded four new seed grants:

• Deborah Dickerson, associate professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is identifying and reducing barriers to rural emergency medical services delivery in Virginia.
• Thomas Ewing, associate dean for graduate studies and research and professor of history, is supporting community-focused exhibits and events along state Route 76 to promote recreation tourism tied to a historic cycling route.
• Jennifer Thomas, assistant professor of landscape architecture, is facilitating community visioning and planning with Amonate, a former coal-company town in Tazewell County.
• Yasmin Mashayekhy Fard, Ph.D. candidate, and Maria Tomai, postdoctoral associate in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering's System Performance Lab, are introducing K–12 students to systems thinking, decision-making, and human–automation interactions with hands-on STEM learning experiences, using station-based activities centered on model trains, drones, and immersive visualization.

“The divisions we see — civic, social, economic — are deeply concerning,” said Scott Tate, associate director for community innovations at the Center for Economic and Community Engagement, part of Outreach and International Affairs. “Vibrant Virginia is about creating space for communities and the university to come together and respond to those challenges, side by side.”

Faculty members interested in learning more about Vibrant Virginia or applying for a seed grant should contact Tate at atate1@vt.edu.

On March 5-6 in Roanoke, the Recovery Ecosystem Conference will bring together thought leaders, practitioners, and community members to explore how coordinated recovery ecosystems can better support individuals transitioning from crisis to long-term wellness. Learn more and register online.